The 1992 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1991–92 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls took on the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers for the title, with Chicago having home court advantage, as they had the best record in the NBA that season.
The two teams appeared headed to face each other for most of the season and comparisons were made between Clyde Drexler and Michael Jordan throughout the season. A month earlier Sports Illustrated had even listed Drexler as Jordan's "No. 1 rival" on a cover the two appeared on together before the playoffs. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic Johnson–Larry Bird type rivalry in Jordan-Drexler, compared the two throughout the pre-Finals hype.
The Bulls went on to win the series in six games, becoming the fourth NBA team to win back-to-back championships after the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Detroit Pistons. Michael Jordan was named Finals Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, to go with his sixth straight regular season scoring title.
Background
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls won their first NBA championship the previous season and finished the 1991–92 season with a 67–15 record, surpassing last season's record by six games. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with a 30.1 points/6.4 assists/6.1 rebounds season.
After sweeping the Miami Heat in the opening round, they played the New York Knicks, who were now coached by Pat Riley and won in seven games. Then they played the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom they had beaten in two prior postseason meetings, in the conference finals. The Bulls won in six games.
Portland Trail Blazers
Coming off an NBA Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons the previous season, the 1990–91 Trail Blazers won a franchise record 63 games and, as the top seed in the Western Conference, appeared destined to meet the Bulls for the championship. However, the Los Angeles Lakers upended the narrative, defeating Portland in a six-game Conference Finals. However, the Lakers would lose to the Bulls in the Finals. Of note, the upset marked a final hurrah for the "Showtime"-era Lakers, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired two years prior, and Magic Johnson would retire unexpectedly in the first week of the 1991–92 season, after learning he had tested positive for HIV.
For the 1991–92 season, the Blazers retained the same core from the previous two seasons; the team won the Pacific Division title with a 57–25 record. In the first round of the playoffs, they avenged the previous year's loss, dispatching a weakened Lakers team, 3–1. Portland followed that up with a five-game defeat of the Phoenix Suns in the second round, before booking another trip to the Finals with a six-game elimination of the Utah Jazz in the Conference Finals.
Road to the Finals
Portland Trail Blazers (Western Conference champion) Chicago Bulls (Eastern Conference champion)1st seed in the West, 2nd best league recordRegular season1st seed in the East, best league recordDefeated the (8) Los Angeles Lakers, 3–1First roundDefeated the (8) Miami Heat, 3–0Defeated the (4) Phoenix Suns, 4–1Conference semifinalsDefeated the (4) New York Knicks, 4–3Defeated the (2) Utah Jazz, 4–2Conference finalsDefeated the (3) Cleveland Cavaliers, 4–2
Regular season series The Chicago Bulls won both games in the regular season series:
Nationally televised on NBC, the two teams met on March 1st at Chicago Stadium in a highly anticipated matchup. The Bulls blew out the Trail Blazers, 111–91, but pre-game comments made by Phil Jackson was the most important story of the game. Jackson stated in an interview with NBC that Portland had a reputation of self-destructing down the stretch in close games. Before the start of the Finals, Buck Williams called the comments by Jackson in March "sort of derogatory" and Portland's head coach Rick Adelman stated the only way for the narrative around his team would go away was to win the championship. In the opening montage before the Game 1, NBC's pre-game host Bob Costas highlighted this point. Jackson's comments would prove to be prophetic for the 1992 Finals, as the Blazers blew a 79–64 lead at the start of the fourth quarter in the clinching Game 6 for the Bulls.
Team rosters
Chicago Bulls
Portland Trail Blazers
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 3 Portland Trail Blazers 89–122 (0–1) Chicago Bulls Game 2 June 5 Portland Trail Blazers 115–104 (OT) (1–1) Chicago Bulls Game 3 June 7 Chicago Bulls 94–84 (2–1) Portland Trail Blazers Game 4 June 10 Chicago Bulls 88–93 (2–2) Portland Trail Blazers Game 5 June 12 Chicago Bulls 119–106 (3–2) Portland Trail Blazers Game 6 June 14 Portland Trail Blazers 93–97 (2–4) Chicago Bulls
Game 1
Michael Jordan dominated from the beginning, breaking the record for most points in a first half in the playoffs once held by Elgin Baylor (Jordan had 35, Baylor had 33). This included six first-half threes (also a record). It was after the sixth three-pointer that Jordan turned towards the broadcast table and famously shrugged to indicate his surprise (Urban legend is Jordan and Magic Johnson were playing cards the night before and Johnson bet Jordan about shooting 3 pointers. The shrug was supposedly in Johnson's direction, who was on the NBC announce team). Jordan's shrug became a highlight reel mainstay. Portland held their final lead at 45–44 in the second quarter before Chicago went on a 22–6 run to grab a 66–51 halftime lead and take control. The Bulls finished with a 122–89 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Game 2
With the Chicago Blackhawks playing for the Stanley Cup when the Bulls reached the Finals, Game 2 would have had conflict with Game 6 of the Blackhawks' series, as both teams would have played on the same day at Chicago Stadium. However, the Blackhawks series ended in 4 games, so no rescheduling was needed.
Portland built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, and held a nine-point lead at the half. However, as in Game 1, their lead started to disappear as the Bulls made their run – Jordan scored 14 points while Paxson scored 9, taking a seven-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Chicago was looking to take a commanding 2–0 lead in the series when Clyde Drexler fouled out with 4:36 remaining. With the Bulls up by 10, Jordan started to lose his poise, committing a foul and then a technical foul. This helped Portland build a 15–5 run, pushing the game into overtime after Jordan narrowly missed at the buzzer. In overtime, Portland dominated, especially Ainge, who scored six points with one minute remaining as the Blazers won 115–104 – the Bulls' worst home defeat in an NBA Finals game.
Game 3
Chicago had lost home court advantage, but dominated Portland, holding them to numerous franchise playoff lows: 84 points in a game, 39 second-half points and 28 field goals. Chicago would go on a 30–13 run in the first half to gain a 44–30 lead which Portland would cut to three with 7:09 left in the third before the Bulls went to another 12–3 run. Portland would then go on a field goal drought, not scoring from the 4:33 mark in the third quarter until the 9:36 mark of the fourth, a 6:57 stretch.
Game 4
Portland was still playing as they were during Game 3, not scoring for four minutes and finding themselves down 10–0. The Bulls were up 22–9 before the Blazers rallied and cut the deficit to three at the half, but found themselves down again in the third quarter. While Jordan scored 13 points in the third quarter, he would not score in the game's final 10:26. Portland went on a 15–6 run to even the series at two games apiece.
Game 5
The Bulls jumped out to a 10–2 lead and never looked back, answering every Blazers comeback attempt with a run of their own. Chicago opened the second half on a 16–8 run to give the Bulls a 20-point lead. Portland didn't pull back within single digits until less than four minutes were left in the game, and ended up losing 119–106.
Michael Jordan, who briefly sat with a bad ankle, finished with 46 points on 14-of-23 from the field and 16-of-19 from the line. Scottie Pippen fell just short of a triple-double, with 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Clyde Drexler scored 30 points to lead six Portland players in double figures. However, Portland had 18 turnovers and shot just 43.8 percent from the field, compared to 54.8 percent for the Bulls.
Game 5 remains the most recent NBA Finals game played in Portland to date.
Game 6
Portland started strongly as they held Michael Jordan scoreless for the game's first 11 minutes, and took a 43–28 lead midway through the second quarter before Chicago went on a 16–7 run and cut the deficit to only six points. Portland also dominated the third quarter, building a 79–64 lead. Phil Jackson went with four reserves and Scottie Pippen to start the fourth quarter, cutting Portland's lead to three after only three minutes. Jordan returned and had two steals and converted them to hoops to give Chicago a permanent lead. With 11.8 seconds left and the Bulls up by 2, Jordan virtually clinched the title by hitting 2 free throws bringing him to 12 points in the fourth quarter. Kersey then missed a 3 which was rebounded by Paxson who dribbled out the clock. The Bulls' defense held Portland to only six points in the final four minutes, leading the Bulls to their second straight championship. Jordan finished with 33 points and was named Finals MVP for the second consecutive year.
Player statistics
Chicago Bulls
| align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 17.8 || .429 || .250 || .571 || 0.8 || 2.3 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 5.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 25.2 || .500 || .000 || .500 || 4.0 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 0.2 || 6.3 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 37.8 || .561 || .000 || .529 || 7.8 || 4.0 || 0.8 || 2.3 || 9.2 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 8.0 || .600 || .750 || .500 || 0.4 || 0.6 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 3.2 |- | align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 3.0 || 1.000 || .000 || .000 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 1.0 |-! style="background:#FDE910;" | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 42.3 || .526 || .429 || .891 || 4.8 || 6.5 || 1.7 || 0.3 || 35.8 |- | align="left" | || 4 || 0 || 12.0 || .333 || .000 || .667 || 2.5 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 0.3 || 4.5 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 10.8 || .450 || .000 || .500 || 2.2 || 0.7 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 3.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 30.8 || .520 || .389 || .750 || 0.8 || 2.7 || 1.3 || 0.0 || 10.3 |- | align="left" | || 3 || 0 || 3.3 || .333 || .000 || .000 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.7 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 40.7 || .484 || .222 || .786 || 8.3 || 7.7 || 1.5 || 0.7 || 20.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 21.3 || .542 || .000 || .778 || 6.2 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 1.3 || 5.5
Portland Trail Blazers
| align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 6.0 || .000 || .000 || .500 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 23.0 || .434 || .235 || .714 || 2.0 || 2.5 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 21.0 || .625 || .000 || .000 || 5.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | || 1 || 0 || 8.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 39.7 || .407 || .150 || .893 || 7.8 || 5.3 || 1.3 || 1.0 || 24.8 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 27.3 || .431 || .000 || .706 || 6.8 || 1.5 || 0.5 || 0.7 || 9.3 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 38.0 || .481 || .000 || .733 || 8.7 || 3.3 || 1.8 || 0.2 || 14.8 |- | align="left" | || 2 || 0 || 8.0 || .167 || .000 || .750 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 2.5 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 6 || 43.8 || .471 || .231 || .824 || 4.3 || 4.7 || 1.0 || 0.3 || 16.2 |- | align="left" | || 6 || 0 || 24.3 || .442 || .000 || .593 || 3.0 || 2.2 || 0.8 || 0.7 || 10.3 |- | align="left" | || 5 || 0 || 5.2 || .286 || .000 || .000 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 0.0 || 0.8 |-